Harry Potter and the Jade Dragon
by plainjane
Summary: Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year, relieved to be back in the safety of it's walls. But what will happen when Hogwarts recieves word of Muggle killings and Cho turns to Harry for help?
1. Birthday Gifts and a Strange Letter

Ok, I'm trying to condense some of these chapters into one, so bear with me.

And Phoenixfire, I'm having to upload this in pieces.  The first part was given to me by my friend and I'm adding to it.  So I've got to edit each piece as I go.  Eventually, the intro will make sense.  I promise.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc…

Harry Potter and (the Curse of) the Jade Dragon

No one ever saw the sleepy moonlit shadows of Privet Drive.  No one, except the boy named Harry Potter.  Harry often kept late hours, working on his holiday homework, reading about Quidditch, his favorite sport in the world, or simply staring at the moonlit shadows and thinking about how much his life had changed in such a short amount of time.  However, tonight Harry was in a deep sleep.  He was so deep in his sleep; the dreams that had haunted his so much lately just passed him by.  Harry was so deep in his sleep; he didn't even hear his owl Hedwig flap into his bedroom and land softly on the edge of his bed.  Nor did he hear the three owls that flew in behind Hedwig.  He did, however, feel them land on his stomach.

                "Oof."  Harry opened one eye and saw an odd shaped grey lump sitting on his stomach.  He pushed the grey lump off him, reached for his glasses and grinned at the sight that lay before him.  Three owls, including his own Hedwig, sat on his bed, accompanied by several packages and letters.  A tiny grey owl Harry recognized as Ron's owl Pigwigdeon dropped its package in the pile on Harry's bed, and zoomed haphazardly around Harry's room, nearly colliding with another owl who had just flown through Harry's open window, looking a little flustered and lost.  

                "You'd both better keep quiet." Harry told the owls, imagining the chaos that would ensue if his Uncle Vernon found Harry not only awake at three in the morning, but with five owls and several packages from the wizarding world on his bed.  

                Pushing thoughts of the Dursleys from his head, Harry turned to his first package.  Unwrapping the outer paper, he pulled out a box and a card with a letter from his best friend Ron.  Pulling the letter out of the card, he unfolded it.

_Dear Harry,_

_I've got great news!  Mum told me today that Dumbledore has agreed to let you come stay with us for the last two weeks of the holidays!  That's means you've only got two more weeks with the Muggles.  That is, if they let you come.  But they'd better let you come!  But maybe we won't come by Floo powder this time._

_                                Happy Birthday!  See you in two weeks._

_                                                Ron_

                Harry glanced at the clock next to his bed, which read 12:30 am.  He knew the Dursleys would ignore his birthday, as they always did, so Harry appreciated the gifts from his friends more than they knew.  He turned to the box from Ron and pulled out an enormous amount of food.  He wouldn't have to worry about the Dursley's diet anymore.  The box held enough food to last him a month.  There was a cake that looked like Ron had made it himself, boxes of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, several pies from Mrs. Weasley, and several yellowish custard tarts which Harry regarded wearily.  They looked suspiciously like Canary Cremes, a creation of Ron's brothers, Fred and George.  Only slightly tempted to slip one to Dudley, Harry grinned, imagining his overly large cousin turning into an overly large canary.

                The next box was from Hermione, containing a new book on Quidditch tactics.  Harry, normally disagreeing with Hermione's fondness of books, was especially pleased with it.  The next package was a cake and a letter from Sirius Black, Harry's godfather.  The final package contained a box of very hard treacle fudge from Hagrid.  Grinning at the large amount of food that would help him fend on the Dursley's diet, Harry jumped as the flustered looking owl dropped a letter in his lap, turned and soared out the window.  Turning over the envelope, only the words _Harry Potter were written on it.  Wondering who could have sent him such a mysterious letter, Harry ripped open the envelope, unfolded the letter and promptly dropped it._

                                _Dear Harry,_

_                I never got to thank you for what you did for Cedric.  I know you weren't happy with him or me when I told you I was going to the Yule Ball with him; I just hope you don't hate me for it.  I had a dream last night about when…that night.  Cedric told me in my dream not to blame you, that you were a hero.  I know I'll probably never know the whole story, you may be the only one who ever will, but I just wanted to tell you I don't blame you for Cedric's death._

_                                                Cho_

                Harry's heart and stomach gave a huge lurch.  He hardly ever talked to Cho Chang, she'd spoken maybe twenty words to him in his life and now she was writing him a letter.  It seemed almost too good to be true.  Harry reread the letter and realized it was entirely about Cedric.  It was too good to be true.

Harry spent his last two weeks with the Dursleys finishing his holiday work, amusing himself with watching Dudley attempt to survive on carrot sticks and grapefruit, and looking forward to seeing the Weasleys again.  The Dursleys, on the other hand, were less than pleased with the Weasleys coming to pick Harry up again.

                "They won't be blasting through the chimney again, you'd better make that clear!" roared Uncle Vernon the afternoon before Harry was to leave.  

                "No, they're not coming by Fl– that way again." Harry told him.  Harry had received another letter from Ron that morning, telling him the Weasleys had arranged for a taxi.  And this time, only Ron and his mother, Molly Weasley would come get him.  After last year's incident involving Dudley and the twin's Ton-Tongue Toffee, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let Fred and George near Privet Drive.  

                Precisely at half past noon the next day, a Muggle taxicab pulled up in front of the Dursley's house.  Ron and Harry heaved and shoved Harry's heavy trunk down the stairs and into the back of the cab, while Mrs. Weasley followed with Hedwig in her cage.  Harry said goodbye to the Dursleys, Dudley peeking out from behind his parents, and joined Ron in the car.  Mrs. Weasley joined them a moment later, and the cab headed down the street.

                "Better sit back and relax, Harry." Mr. Weasley told him, "We've got a long drive ahead of us.  Arthur would have come for you, but there's so much work to be done at the Ministry lately, he just couldn't manage to take the time off.  It certainly is more of a hassle using this cab, but we didn't want to risk what happened last year, having you leave with your relatives angry at you like that."  Harry shook his head; when weren't the Dursleys angry with him?

                As the taxi turned a corner, Harry looked back and took a last look at Privet Drive.

Several hours later, the Muggle cab pulled up in front of the Burrow and Harry grinned as the twins and Ginny ran out of the house to welcome him.  Fred and George lugged Harry's trunk inside, while Harry helped Mrs. Weasley count the Muggle money to pay for the cab.  Inside, the Weasleys and Harry, now joined by Mr. Weasley had just sat down to dinner when an exuberant Pig looped in the window and around the kitchen.

                "Come _here."  Ron demanded of his owl, lunging for it and falling out of his chair.  He quickly righted himself, pulled the letter from Pig's leg and unfolded the letter.  _

                "Hermione'll meet us tomorrow at noon in Diagon Alley, and she'll bring her stuff with her." Ron told his mother, who nodded.                

                "She's coming to stay with us for the next few weeks." Mrs. Weasley told Harry.  "The poor girl, she's had a rough summer.  Her parents have been a bit weary of anything to do with the wizarding world since-" and stopped short.  The entire family glanced uneasily at Harry.

                "-Since the summer started." Mr. Weasley finished for her, trying to cover the awkward silence.

                "Harry, Ron," George said quickly, "You wanna go practice Quidditch?  We've got the Quidditch Cup to defend this year."  

                "Yeah," both Harry and Ron nodded, "let's go."

                As they trekked up the hill to the clearing where they practiced, Fred and George continued to talk excitedly about the Quidditch Cup.

                "This is our last year and I'm not about to let Slytherin come anywhere near the Cup." Fred nearly took Ron's head off as he swung his broom around.

                "Hey," A thought had just rushed to Harry's mind.  "Who's our new team captain?  Oliver's gone, and we didn't get one last year because of the Tournament."  

                Fred and George stopped short and looked at one another.

                "Well," George said slowly, "we're seventh years this year, and so are Angelina, Katie, and Alicia.  So one of us.  McGonagall usually picks the captain, but normally she lets us know before the end of the year."

                "Forget captain," Fred interrupted, "who's gonna play Keeper?"  

                Harry nearly dropped his broom.  Who were they going to get to replace Oliver Wood?  Wood's skills as a Keeper had helped Gryffindor win the Quidditch House Cup two years ago.  

                "McGonagall will be able to find us someone." George said lightly as they reached the clearing.  "C'mon, let's go."

                Soaring through the air on his Firebolt, Harry marveled at how much he had missed flying.  Yet it still seemed so easy.  The four of them took turns throwing apples at each other for practice.  They hiked back to the Burrow as the sun went down and for the first time all summer, Harry felt at ease.

R/R!!!


	2. The Return to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc…

Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny traveled by Floo powder to Diagon Alley the next day, accompanied by Mrs. Weasley.  After buying new books, rolls of parchment, and quills, Harry and Ron set off to find Hermione.

                "Make sure you be careful!" Mrs. Weasley called after them.  "And no trouble!" she shouted to the twins, who waved back.  

                As the two of them wandered Diagon Alley, wishing they'd asked where Hermione would meet them, they began to notice the Alley was a bit different from previous years.  Families seemed to be sticking together more than they had before.  They waved at Neville Longbottom who was shopping, as usual, with his grandmother, a daunting older woman, as well as what looked like his uncle.  Mothers were keeping sharp eyes on their younger children and cautioning their older ones.  Looking around Harry asked Ron, "Do they know that Vol – I mean You-Know-Who is back?"

                Ron nodded. "Those that believe Dumbledore at least.  Most of them know through the Ministry, I'd imagine.  All the overtime my dad's been putting in has been helping Dumbledore convince the people who need convincing.  And most of us take Dumbledore pretty seriously.  But You-Know-Who wouldn't come here, would he?  I mean, Diagon Alley?  With so many people around?"

                "He might." Harry said glumly, remembering Wormtail, Voldemort's servant who blasted a street full of Muggles apart.  If Wormtail did it, Voldemort certainly could.

                Harry and Ron found Hermione sitting at a table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, closely watched over by Florean himself.  As usual, she sat immersed in a thick book.  Harry and Ron both ordered a peanut butter and marshmallow ice cream and the three of them spend the next several hours catching up.

                As they finished the last of their melted ice cream, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley strode up to their table, followed by Fred and George.

                Mrs. Weasley greeted Hermione and looked around.  "Where are your things?" she asked.

                "I left them at The Leaky Cauldron, Tom said he'd watch them for me." Hermione replied, gesturing toward the pub.

                "Good.  We can take that fireplace home." Mrs. Weasley started towards The Leaky Cauldron, calling back, "Got everything?  Good, let's go."

                Harry enjoyed the last two weeks of holidays with the Weasleys, but began to look forward to his return to Hogwarts, especially as things at the Weasleys began to get tense.  Mr. Weasley came home later and later and began to look more and more exhausted.  Harry, Ron and Hermione began finding ways to stay out of the house.  Despite their protests that it was the summer holidays, Hermione tried to convince Harry and Ron to spend their time studying. ("We've got the O.W.L.s. coming up this year, don't you want to be ready?")  Harry and Ron, along with the twins, also filled their time with Quidditch practice every day.  Harry found himself both surprised and relieved when Mrs. Weasley reminded them to make sure their trunks were packed, as they were leaving early in the morning for King's Cross.

                After dealing with more Muggle taxicabs and getting on to Platform nine and three quarters, Harry, Hermione and Ron found an open compartment at the very back of the train and shoved their trunks on board.  Back outside the train, the three of them received hugs and a kiss from Mrs. Weasley, who looked uncharacteristically nervous sending her children off to school.  After promising to send her an owl after they arrived, the three of them turned back to board the train.  Several compartments down, Harry caught a glimpse of Cho, who gave him a small smile and wave.  For the first time in a while, Harry didn't feel the need to be right near her.  He knew he would talk with her at Hogwarts.  

                Slouching on to a seat in their compartment, Ron breathed a sigh of relief.  "As much as I hate to say it, I'm glad to be going back to school.  I couldn't take much more of being at home, everyone being so tense.  It probably would have been easier if everyone knew You-Know-Who was back or if he had done something."

                "Ron!" Hermione looked shocked.  "If You-Know-Who had done something, we might not be going back to Hogwarts!  Or I might not have been able to come back." She said pointedly.

                "What?" Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison, turning to look at Hermione.

                "Since my parents found out about You-Know-Who, they've been really worried about me.  They were thinking about pulling me out of Hogwarts and going to a Muggle school instead.  I had to get Professor McGonagall to assure them that Hogwarts was the safest place I could be."

                "Wow." It was Ron's turn to look shocked.  "I knew they were nervous, but taking you out of Hogwarts?  I mean, you're the best student in our year!"

                Hermione shrugged, obviously wanting to find a new topic of conversation, and pulled out a book just as Fred, George and Ginny came through the sliding door.  The boys immersed themselves in more Quidditch talk and were surprised by Ginny, who interrupted with a few thoughts of her own.

                The five of them were in the middle of another debate over who the new Gryffindor keeper should be when the door slid open and Draco Malfoy stuck his head in.  Behind him were Crabbe and Goyle, both who looked slightly uneasy.  Malfoy looked like he wanted to say something to Ron, but changed his mind and shifted his gaze to Hermione, still engrossed in her book.

                "You really think you're safe here?" He asked her, a smug look on his face.  "Well, you're not.  Better watch your step, you little Mudblood."  Malfoy's face kept his smirk as Harry, Ron, Fred and George jumped up, wands in hand, but he left rather quickly, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, each taking a paranoid glance over their shoulder.  

                "One of these days…" Ron voiced angrily, glaring down the hall.  

                "Let it go, Ron." George told him.  "We're here."

                They had been so absorbed in their conversation they hadn't noticed where they were or that the sun had gone down.  But sure enough, the Hogwart's Express was slowing to a halt.

                Stepping off the train, Harry was relieved to see Hagrid at the station, gathering all the scared looking first years.  Hagrid gave Harry a wave and led the first years toward the lake.  

                After the carriage ride to the entrance of Hogwarts, the group narrowly avoided being hit by pieces of rotten fruit thrown by Peeves in the entrance hall and entered the Great Hall.  The six of them crossed the hall to the Gryffindor table and sat down near Angelina, Katie and Alicia, and talk of the Gryffindor House Quidditch team began again.  They quieted down, though, when the doors to the Great Hall opened and the group of terrified first years found their way to the front of the hall where the Sorting Hat was waiting.  As the hat began its song, Harry felt his stomach growl and wished the sorting would hurry up.  As the last student was sorted into Gryffindor and sat down, her hands shaking, several seats down from Harry, Dumbledore stood and the Great Hall quieted again.

                "I have several notices for you, but first, we shall eat!" Dumbledore said, and the golden plates in front of them were suddenly filled with food.  Harry, Ron and Hermione, all starving, ate in silence for a few minutes until Ron brought their attention to the teacher's table, where there were several empty spaces.

                "Snape's not here." Ron mumbled thickly through a mouthful of potatoes.  "Do you think," he swallowed, and looked around.  "Do you think," Ron began again, his voice noticeably lower, "he's still working for Dumbledore?"

                Harry shrugged and looked up as Hagrid entered the Hall from a door behind the teacher's table and took his place.  Harry jerked his head in the direction of the head table, "There's only one empty place now.  Who are we missing?"

                "Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione replied quietly.  "That's odd though," she continued, "I would think Dumbledore would be putting more emphasis on that class, especially now."  Harry shrugged again and turned his attention to Dumbledore who was now standing.

                "I must ask all of you for your attention, as these notices are very important.  The Dark Forest is, as usual, off limits to all students, as is the town of Hogsmeade." He held up a hand as nearly every student above third year groaned.  "No student is to leave the Hogwarts grounds under any circumstances, unless accompanied by a faculty member.  First through fourth years are not allowed out of the castle unless accompanied by a teacher or fifth year or above student."  Harry and Ron glanced at each other; at least they had one freedom.  "House Quidditch teams will have set practice times and practices will be overseen by Madam Hooch."

                "There will be no Potions classes held during the first two weeks of classes," Harry laughed at Ron cheering quietly beside him, "when Professor Snape will return.  After his return, classes will be held as normal.  And I will be taking on the responsibility of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts classes."  A murmur of disbelief rose from the tables; Dumbledore teaching?  Harry knew Dumbledore had once been a teacher at Hogwarts, but that was fifty years ago.  Harry couldn't imagine him teaching now.  

                "And now it is time we all got some rest." concluded Dumbledore, and students began to leave their tables.  Harry and Ron reached the entrance hall and waited for Hermione, who had been summoned by Professor McGonagall.  Hermione joined them and they maneuvered their way around younger students to the Gryffindor Tower.

                "Password?" the fat lady in the portrait asked them.  Harry and Ron looked at each other in frustration; they had forgotten to find out the password.

                "Polaris." Hermione replied calmly and the portrait swung open.  Harry and Ron gaped at Hermione as she climbed in to the Gryffindor common room.  

                "How did you –" Ron stopped short as Hermione turned to face them and they noticed for the first time the shiny prefect badge on her robes.  Ron stared at her in shock.

                "You're a prefect?  Why didn't you tell us?" he sputtered.  Hermione just shrugged her shoulders and headed towards the girls dormitory, leaving Harry and Ron staring after her.

                "I can't believe she didn't tell us." Ron said as they walked up the stairs to their dormitory.  

                "I know." Harry absentmindedly replied, his mind still on Professor Dumbledore.

                "Well," Ron thought as they climbed into their beds, "at least she's not like Percy, who reminded us every day when he became a prefect…" Ron yawned and continued mumbling as Harry rolled over and got lost in his sleep.

R/R!


	3. The First Day

                Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.

Ron had other things to think about the next morning than Hermione's becoming a prefect.  The students had their class schedules in hand no more than a second when several hundred owls flew through the window and began dropping letters and packages onto their owner's plates.  Harry scanned the mass of owls, searching for Hedwig, and not seeing her, he tried not to worry.  The last time he had heard from Sirius was over a month ago, on his birthday.  He knew Sirius was still working for Dumbledore, setting plans for defense against Lord Voldemort, but over the summer Sirius had sent letter by Hedwig every two weeks.  Harry shook the anxiety from his head and turned his attention to Fred and George who had joined them at the table.  

                "We got an owl from Mum and Dad." George handed Ron the letter and Harry looked over Ron's shoulder as he read it aloud to Ginny.

                                _Dear kids,_

_                Your father and I will be out of the country for a few weeks.  If an emergency comes up and you need to reach us, Percy has agreed to loan you his owl, who knows where to find us.  Just let Percy know by way of Pigwidgeon.  We'll be back home in less than a month.  Work hard, we'll miss you kids. _

_                Fred and George – Stay out of trouble!_

_                                Mum_

                "What do you reckon Mum and Dad are doing?" Ron asked, looking puzzled by the letter.

                "Who knows." Fred shrugged as he and George stood up.  "Oh Harry, McGonagall called a team meeting for tonight at seven.  We're meeting in the locker rooms." Fred added over his shoulder as the twins headed for the front hall.  Harry nodded, waved goodbye to Ginny who followed her brothers out of the Great Hall, and turned back to his friends.  Hermione had a frustrated look on her face.

                "Honestly Ron," she shook her head, "don't you remember at the end of last year?" 

                "Remember what?" Ron's voice rose with anger.

                Hermione sighed and deliberately lowered her voice as she noticed Malfoy walking by the Gryffindor table.  "Remember when Harry was in the hospital wing?  Right after Fudge stormed out?  Your mother told Dumbledore he could count on them for something.  They've got to be working for Dumbledore!"

                "Oh yeah…" Ron said thoughtfully, the anger draining from his face.

                "C'mon," Harry jerked his head towards the door, "We've got Care of Magical Creatures."

                Harry had been looking forward to their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson so he could get a chance to talk to Hagrid, who had been scarce all summer.  Harry knew Dumbledore had given Hagrid a job over the summer, most likely something to do with Voldemort's return, but Harry wanted to know what.  Unfortunately, Harry didn't get to talk to Hagrid until the lesson was over.  

                "Harry!" Hagrid boomed, "How was yer summer?"  

                "All right." Harry replied. "How was yours?"

                "Busy." Hagrid glanced down at Harry and added, "And don't even think of askin' what I was doin', cause I ain't tellin'!"  

                _We'll see, thought Harry.  Hagrid had, more than once, let some important information slip to the three of them; all Harry had to do was wait till Hagrid was a little less protective of his information._

                After lunch, Harry and Ron sat through a rather boring and unbearable Divination class.  Professor Trelawney's classroom was as hot and dizzying as ever and Professor Trelawney announced they would start the term with numerology, in Harry's opinion, the worst part of divination, because the numbers reminded him of his Muggle maths class.  Harry was very surprised, however, to find he managed to make it through the entire lesson without Professor Trelawney predicting his death.  Ron was just as shocked as Harry.

                "Do you think she feeling all right?" Ron asked, glancing back at Trelawney's classroom in amazement.  "That's the first time in two years that's happened!" 

                Harry shrugged.  All through dinner the only thing on Harry's mind was Quidditch and the team meeting with Professor McGonagall.

                Finally, at a quarter till seven, Harry left the Gryffindor common room and, joined by his teammates, headed down to the Quidditch locker rooms.  Professor McGonagall was already there when the team arrived, so they quickly took seats on the benches, looking expectantly at McGonagall.

                "Let's get started, since I know you want to win the House Cup as much as I do this year."  McGonagall gave the team as much of a smile they had ever seen from her.  "We've got just over a month until our first match and we need to find a Keeper.  I want all of you to keep your eyes out for anyone you think will help this team.  I've asked Madam Hooch for her input on any quality flyers from her classes; she'll be getting back to me soon.  In the meantime, starting next week, you have practices twice a week.  And this year's captain will be Angelina Johnson."  McGonagall finished and left the locker room.  Angelina blushed as her fellow chasers Katie and Alicia hugged her in congratulations.  Harry, Fred and George congratulated Angelina on their way back up to the castle.  When they all reached the Gryffindor common room, Angelina turned to the rest of the team.  "Remember to keep an eye out for anyone who might be a possibility." she told them.  Harry, Fred and George nodded and headed towards Ron, Hermione and Ginny sitting on the far side of the room.  "I was kinda hoping it would be one of us." George whispered, "but McGonagall probably thinks we'd try to bewitch the Bludgers or something.  Like we'd really do anything to ruin our chances at Quidditch."  George muttered but Fred shrugged.  "Nah…too much responsibility.  Angelina'll be a good captain.  At least she knows what she's doing."  George rolled his eyes and Harry laughed.  Harry knew Fred and Angelina had gone to the Yule Ball together last year, but he had been concentrating so much on the Tournament, he didn't know what had happened after that.  Before he got the chance to ask, Ron jumped up.

                "How'd it go?" asked Ron.  

                "Angelina's the new captain," George told him. "And we're supposed to be looking for possibilities for Keeper."

                "Oliver had to be a Keeper.  If you guys needed anyone but a Keeper…" Ron trailed off.  Harry knew Ron wanted to play for the House team, but numerous Quidditch practices at the Burrow proved that Ron was not cut out for a Keeper.  He could play both Seeker and Chaser well, but like his brothers, was best as a Beater.  

                "Wait till next year." George told Ron, who nodded.

R/R!


	4. Cho's Dream

                Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.

                The next day, the fifth years were scheduled to have Potions, but their classes wouldn't start until Professor Snape returned.  Harry and Ron argued with Hermione on how to spend their free time.  Hermione wanted to go to the library and continue studying for the O.W.L.s.  Harry and Ron wanted to visit Hagrid and see if they could get any information on his summer from him, but agreed to the library when Hermione reminded them Hagrid was in the middle of teaching class.

                They had been in the library only ten minutes, Ron scowling the entire time at his copy of an O.W.L.s. practice exam, when Cho walked up to their table.

                "Harry?" she said quietly as the three of them looked up at her in surprise.  "Could I talk to you?"

                "Sure." Harry stood, ignoring looks from Ron and Hermione, and followed Cho to a table at the other end of the library.  

                "I, er, got your owl." stammered Harry, sitting down across the table from Cho.  She smiled weakly at him.  "Er, how were your summer holidays?" Harry asked her, for lack of anything better to say.  

                "They were hard." Cho's eyes scanned the library, looking everywhere but at Harry.  "My parent's thought it would be good for me to spend some time away from here.  So I spend most of it in Asia with my grandmother."  She fingered a necklace hanging around her neck; on the end of it was the figurine of a green and gold dragon.  "My grandmother gave me this." Cho said looking down at it.  "She said it's been in our family for thousands of years, but it had been lost for nearly three generations.  She found it right before I went to visit her.  She thought it would cheer me up." Her voice trailed off.

"I…" she stopped, seeming to search for something to say.  She sighed and looked down at her lap.  Harry opened his mouth, not know what to say, but knowing he had to say something, just as Cho looked up at him.

                "Harry, what happened out there?" she asked, blinking back tears.  Harry opened his mouth again to answer, but she kept talking.  "I had this awful dream about it.  You and Cedric were both standing there, so close to the Cup, arguing about who should take it.  You finally said it should be both of you; you both grabbed hold of it.  Then everything went black and then I heard some one say…" Cho's voice broke as she fought back tears, "…and then he was gone."  Cho broke into a loud sob, whispered, "I'm so sorry, I-" and ran from the library.  Harry stared at the seat across from him, stunned.  How had she known about the port key and Voldemort using the Avada Kedavra curse?  The only people he had told the entire story to were Dumbledore and Sirius.  How had she known?

Sorry this is so short!  The next chapter is quite a bit longer, so R/R and I'll post it soon!


	5. Quidditch Tryouts and the New Keeper

                Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.

                            Harry noticed Cho avoided him for the next week, but Harry had his mind on other things.  The Gryffindor Quidditch team started practice the next Monday under the supervision of Madam Hooch.  Fred had been right, Angelina made a great team captain.  By the end of practice, the team had run through all the plays Oliver had taught them, plus several new ones Angelina had devised.  After practice, Madam Hooch called the team over and was joined by Professor McGonagall.  

                "We haven't found anyone to play Keeper yet." McGonagall told the team, "but we will be holding a tryout this Saturday for anyone who wants to play Keeper.  So we'll need you all here, Saturday morning.  The tryout will start at noon."

                Saturday came quickly and Harry found himself, along with the rest of the team, down on the Quidditch pitch at noon.  Brooms in hand, the team faced nearly a dozen nervous looking Gryffindors, listening to Professor McGonagall's instructions.

                "When I call your name, step forward.  You will each take your place in front of the goals.  You will have ten shots taken against you.  The first five will be by the three Chasers.  For the next five shots, the Beaters and Seeker will also be flying around, along with the Bludgers.  Let's go!" she shouted as Angelina, Katie and Alicia pushed off from the ground.

                Harry and the twins watched a very stricken first year miss the first Quaffle, stop the next two, and nearly fall off his broom on the fourth shot.  The boy was shaking so badly he couldn't finish his tryout.  Harry and the twins exchanged a look.  "I don't know why they're even letting first years try out." George muttered. "Most of the time they can barely fly."  Harry nodded, knowing he had been one of the exceptions.

                The next four tryouts were better, but not by much.  Harry sighed nervously; none of the tryouts had made it through five shots yet.  He knew if Gryffindor wanted any shot and winning the Quidditch Cup, they needed an amazing Keeper.

                "Weasley." called Professor McGonagall.  Harry and the twins looked up in amazement as Ginny stepped forward, mounted her broom and pushed off, flying towards the goals.  Harry turned to Fred and George, who look more shocked than he felt.  

"Since when does Ginny play Quidditch?" Harry asked.  Fred shrugged, eyes upward, watching his sister block shots with ease.  Ginny had the build usually seen in Seekers, but she used her small frame to shift from one goal to another and blocked the first five shots.  Harry, Fred and George took to the air.  The twins immediately went after the Bludgers, but Harry, feeling he had no real purpose since the Snitch wasn't being used, flew around near the goals for some added distraction.  None of this had any affect on Ginny at all.  It was clear she had inherited the Weasley talent for Quidditch.  She made five more spectacular saves and landed on the ground to applause from the other tryouts. 

After the tryout ended, the team met with Professor McGonagall in the locker rooms.  "Alright," Professor McGonagall addressed the team, "you've seen the tryouts.  The choice is up to you; I will give you my suggestion, but you as a team must make the final decision."  The team nodded seriously.  "My recommendation for Keeper is Ginny Weasley.  I believe her playing style will mix well with the rest of the team.  And I must know your decision by tomorrow night.  Keep in mind; our first match against Hufflepuff is in just over a month.  You'll want to be ready by then."  McGonagall nodded to Angelina and turned to leave the locker room.

"Thanks, Professor." Angelina called and turned to face the team.  "Let's try and figure this out today.  First off, is anyone opposed to Ginny becoming the new Keeper?"

All heads turned toward Fred and George who still had looks of surprise on their faces, and for the first time in their lives, were speechless.  

"Where did Ginny learn to play Quidditch anyway?" Katie asked the twins.  "I know all you boys can play, but I didn't think Ginny knew how."

Fred shrugged and George shook his head as Angelina spoke again.  "Ginny was by far the best.  There were a couple other tryouts that weren't too bad;" Angelina tried not to grimace, "what did you guys think?"

Alicia and Katie both voiced the opinion that Ginny was the best candidate and Harry had to agree with them.  He had watched the seven tryouts following Ginny's and while some of them weren't bad, none of them were very good.  He knew if they wanted to defend the Quidditch House Cup they didn't need a good Keeper, they needed a great one.  Ginny was the only one that came close.  

Harry looked at the twins sitting next to him and they both nodded slowly.  "Okay then." Angelina smiled.  "Ginny is it.  I'll tell McGonagall tonight.  Do you guys want to tell Ginny?" she asked Fred and George.  They nodded again.

"Good.  Now we're going to keep this as quiet as possible.  We're going to need every advantage we can get this year, and if we can make the other teams think our new Keeper will be someone with Oliver's playing style, that will give us a bit of an edge."  Everyone nodded and began the walk back to the castle and the Gryffindor Tower.

Harry, Fred and George stayed a couple paces behind the girls and the twins regained their voices.  

"Where _did_ Ginny learn to play?" George asked.  "Especially that well." 

"I didn't think she even liked Quidditch." Fred added, shaking his head.

When they reached the Gryffindor Tower, they found Ginny sitting at the far end of the room, discussing something with Hermione.  George grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from her chair.

"Hey!" protested Ginny, trying to shrug him off.

"Come here." George said, leading her to a corner of the common room, followed by Fred and Harry.

"Where did you lean to play like that?" Fred asked Ginny quietly, trying to avoid drawing attention to the four of them.  Ginny blinked at him.  "What?"

"Ginny, in all the years we've known you, we've never seen you on a broom, let along near a Quidditch pitch.  How'd you learn to play?" George asked.

"I've only wanted to play since Charlie started." Ginny said exasperatedly.  "But you guys would never let me practice with you, so I taught myself."

"How?" Harry and the twins asked in unison.  They knew that Quidditch was a sport that wasn't easily self-taught.

"You guys don't think I went to the Quidditch World Cup for no reason, did you?  I've been watching as many matches as I could, trying to learn the moves.  And Hermione's helped me." She nodded to the chair where Hermione had been watching them intently, but quickly turned back to her book.  "She helped me over the summer, throwing apples and lawn gnomes at me for practice."

Ginny stopped and looked at Harry and the twins suspiciously.  "Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"You made the team.  You're our new Keeper." Fred told her, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening.

"What?  Really?" Ginny looked shocked and began to blush furiously.

"Yeah, we're gonna keep it quiet until the first game, so not a word to anyone, okay?" Ginny nodded, still blushing and obviously trying not to grin.  "But what about Ron and Hermione?" she asked, looking over to where Ron had joined Hermione in staring at their group huddled in the corner.  

Fred and George glanced at Harry, who shrugged.  "Fine," sighed George, "but no one else besides Ron and Hermione, and they've got to keep quiet too."

"And Ginny," Fred added, "I don't know how Ron's going to take the news, so…just be prepared, ok?  He may not be too happy."  Ginny nodded.  Harry guessed Ginny had a pretty good idea of how Ron felt, the two of them being the youngest in the Weasley family and could easily get lost among the many acheivements of their older brothers.  But he too, wasn't sure how Ron would react to his little sister making the Gryffindor Quidditch Team before him.

Harry followed Ginny and the twins back over to Hermione and Ron, both of whom wanted to know what their meeting in the corner was about.  Keeping her voice low, Ginny told them.

"That's great!" Hermione tried to keep her voice down.  "I told you those books would help."

Ron, following the reaction of his brothers, looked shocked.  "Since when-" he started.

"Since I taught myself." Ginny interrupted him, smiling.

"Wow," Ron said slowly, "congratulations.  That's great."

As they headed to the Great Hall for dinner that night, Harry and Hermione exchanged worried glances.  Ron had been quiet all day, and the prospect of food, which was normally a good way to cheer Ron up, wasn't helping.  Harry knew Ron was bothered by Ginny making the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but he didn't know what to do.

"Ron?" Hermione ventured quietly.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, sitting across from them at the Gryffindor table.  "I'm just a little…" he paused, looking down the table at Ginny, who was talking excitedly with her friends.  "…surprised." he finished.

"I think we all were." agreed Harry.

"Most of us." Hermione corrected him.

Ron's eyes narrowed.  "When did Ginny ask you for help?  And why didn't she ask me or Fred or George?  Or Harry, for that matter?" 

"She asked me when I came to stay with you for the last part of the summer.  And don't glare at me like that!  You and Harry and the twins were always off practicing Quidditch and you never once thought to ask Ginny if she wanted to play.  So she asked me to help her practice.  She was already very good, mostly from watching the game so much."

Ron started to reply, but closed his mouth when Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.  

"Before you begin to eat, I have a very important notice.  Professor Snape will not be returning to us this week.  Therefore, all Potions lessons have been canceled until further notice.  The allotted time for Potions class will be filled by additional Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons.  To aid me in the increase in classes, Professor Moody will resume his position from last year as a second Defense instructor.  Now," Dumbledore finished, clapping his hands, "we shall eat." 

Food appeared on the tables and the students, surprised at Dumbledore's notice, quietly began to eat.  The Great Hall soon grew louder, however, as the students began to voice their opinions about Dumbledore's announcement.  

"Something happened." George said quietly.  "Something big."  He and Fred had sat down next to Ron.

Fred nodded.  "But what could be big enough for Dumbledore to cancel Potions and add more Defense lessons?  _And_ bring back Mad Eye Moody on top of that?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged.  "Whatever it is, it will probably be in The Daily Prophet tomorrow." she said calmly, but Harry could tell she wanted to know what happened just as much as the rest of them.

R/R!


	6. More Than One Something Big

                Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.

Hermione was right.

The next morning, after an owl had dropped her copy of The Daily Prophet on her plate, Hermione read an article from the front page out loud to Harry and Ron. 

_Members of the Ministry of Magic have been working around the clock trying to determine the circumstances behind an attack on a Muggle village early Saturday morning.  At approximately 6:18 am Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the small Muggle village of Alendale.  By 7:00 am, the entire village had burned to the ground, killing 59 Muggles and two wizards living in the village under Muggle identities.  After careful examination of the surrounding area, wizards from the Ministry of Magic announced the fire appeared to have been started by the Fuocorous Spell._

_A Ministry representative disclosed that Muggle law enforcement (police) have released a statement to the Muggle society, claiming the fire ignited after an explosion in one of the homes.  The police state that the remains of a firework (a type of Muggle explosive) were found just outside the house where the fire appeared to start.  However, Ministry workers identified the evidence as the charred remains of a wand, presumably thrown into the fire.  The Prior Incatem spell cannot affect damaged wands, so Ministry workers must find another way to identify the wand and its owner._

_Head of Ministry of Magic Cornelius Fudge was not available for comment on the situation, but a representative for the Ministry assured the public that the Ministry has begun an ongoing investigation._

"Is _that_ what Dumbledore brought Moody back for?" Ron asked incredulously as Hermione finished the article.  "I would have reckoned it was something bigger."

"Honestly Ron." Hermione paged through the rest of the paper.  "Dumbledore obviously thinks that You-Know-Who is behind this.  Look at the number of people that were killed.  Not very many wizards would be capable of that."

Harry agreed with Hermione.  Who else would be responsible for killing 61 people with one spell?  Unless it was Pettigrew.  He had blown apart that street of Muggles, but some how Harry couldn't picture him doing it again.  

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a commotion from the Ravenclaw table.  In the midst of it, Harry saw Cho, looking very frightened, leave the table and walk toward the entrance hall.  Telling Ron and Hermione he'd meet them in the common room, he left the Gryffindor table and ran after Cho.  He found her in the entrance hall, sitting on the bottom step of one of the many staircases, a worried expression on her face.

"Cho?" Harry said quietly, approaching her.  "Are you okay?"

"Harry.  I-…I-" she stammered, took a deep breath and started again.  "Did you hear about the village?"  Harry nodded.

"Well," a scared look came over her face, "I saw it happen."

Harry shook his head; had he heard Cho correctly?  "What?"

Before Cho could answer, students began pouring out of the Great Hall, talking loudly as they headed towards their common rooms.  Cho stood, and with a shaking hand, motioned for Harry to follow her.  They climbed the stairs and turned in the direction of the library.

Cho led Harry to the table they had occupied almost two weeks ago.  As she sat down across from him, Harry noticed Cho looked calmer and she had stopped shaking.  "Harry," she began, staring straight at him, "what happened the last day of the Tournament?  What happened when you and Cedric disappeared?"

Harry was surprised at her question, but began to talk.  He told Cho about their encounter with the giant spider, arguing over who should be the winner, and he realized she was the first person he had talked about this with since that day in Professor Dumbledore's office.  He continued, telling her about the Triwizard Cup being a portkey, his fight with Voldemort, and even about seeing Cedric and his parents come out of Voldemort's wand.  He felt his voice catch as he finished, feeling like he had just relived the nightmare over again.

Harry raised his eyes to look at Cho; she looked pale again and was playing with the dragon hanging around her neck.  In a small voice she said, "That was my dream." and Harry suddenly understood.

"Did you see the village in your dreams?" he asked her gently, afraid she was going to start crying again.  She nodded.  

"When?" he prompted her.  

"Last week." Her voice slowly got stronger as she spoke.  "I've had it twice.  I saw a little village; it was barely more than some houses and a small store.  The sun was just coming up over the hills surrounding the village.  There was a little spark from one of the houses, its roof caught fire.  Then, it was like the sun exploded over the village, everything was on fire." She shuddered, as if trying to shake off the memory, and was quiet.

"Did you see anyone?" Harry asked her, remembering Hermione's thought that Voldemort was behind the fire.  

Cho shook her head.  "I didn't see anyone in the village, or anywhere surrounding it." she answered, almost as if knowing what Harry was thinking.  "I didn't see anyone the entire time.  It was as if the whole village slept through it."

Harry wasn't sure how to react.  He had come across many strange matters in his almost five years as a wizard; this, he knew, was very close to the top of that list.  The fact that Cho's dreams were real events was weird enough, but it seemed like Voldemort had ties to both events, if Hermione was right.  Harry was jerked out of his thoughts as he heard his name.

"Harry?  Harry?" At the sound of Cho's voice Harry shook his head, hoping to shake some sense into things.  "What do you think?" she asked.

"I'm not quite sure what to think." Harry said slowly.  "Have you had any other dreams?" he asked, hoping the answer would be no.

Cho shook her head and Harry sighed.  Just knowing about Cho's dreams would be hard enough without having to worry about another catastrophic event.

Just then Harry saw Fred and George sprint into the library at full speed and skid to a halt just before colliding with a table of first years.  They both looked around the library, gasping for air as if they had just run across the grounds.  George saw Harry, nudged his twin in the ribs and raised his eyebrows.  Still breathing heavily, they walked over to the table where Harry and Cho sat.

"Harry, c'mon, Angelina's called an emergency team meeting." Fred said, half wheezing.  Harry shrugged his shoulders at Cho, who smiled, and followed the twins out of the library.  

The twins were silent for a few minutes as the three of them walked through the corridors.  Suddenly, George burst out, "Harry, what were you talking about with Cho?"

Caught off guard at the question, Harry quickly searched for an answer.  He couldn't tell them about Cho's dreams; they were way too bizarre.  Luckily, before Harry could think of an answer, George continued.  "You weren't talking about Quidditch, were you?  You didn't tell her about Ginny?"

Harry shook his head, wondering what George was playing at.  Fred elbowed his twin.  "Quit giving him the third degree.  It's not like it was a Ravenclaw that did it."

"Did what?" asked Harry.  He had no idea what the twins were talking about, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Neither twin answered.  Instead, Fred opened the door to the Transfiguration classroom.  A huddle of people at the front of the room turned.  Professor McGonagall, tight lipped and furious looking had one arm comfortingly around Ginny, whose face was streaked with tears.  Next to them were Katie, Alicia and Angelina, all who looked more enraged than Professor McGonagall, if that was possible.  That sinking feeling in Harry stomach intensified with each step towards the front of the room.

"Harry." Professor McGonagall faced him, her face stern.  "Did you tell anyone about Ginny making the Gryffindor team?"

"No." he answered, shaking his head.  

"You're sure?" Angelina asked him, frowning.

"I didn't tell anyone." Harry told her.  "The only ones I would have told were Ron and Hermione, but Ginny told them herself.  Why?"

"The Gryffindor Tower was broken into this morning." Professor McGonagall told him.  

"What?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"They broke into my dorm." Ginny's quiet voice startled everyone.  "I found that on my bed." She pointed to the desk Fred was standing next to.  In a small pile on the desk sat what looked like small twigs.  Harry stepped closer and realized the pile was the battered remains of Ginny's broom.  Next to the remains sat a scrap of parchment.  Harry leaned closer and saw the writing.

_GRYFFINDOR BETTER FIND A NEW KEEPER OR YOUR BROOM WON'T BE THE ONLY THING LOOKING LIKE THIS. _

At the bottom of the parchment was a crude drawing of a snake.

"It looks like a Slytherin did this.  Why else would they draw a snake?" Katie spoke up.  "Can you think of anyone who would do something like this?" she asked Ginny.

_Would Malfoy do something like this?_  It certainly seemed like the kind of stunt he'd pull.  But before Harry could open his mouth, Professor McGonagall interrupted.  "Before you start accusing anyone, Dumbledore needs to be informed of this.  And I will talk with all the heads of Houses.  This event needs to be confined to the seven of you.  Is that understood?"  The entire team nodded and Professor McGonagall left the classroom.

"Harry, where were you?" Alicia turned on him.  "We were looking for you for half an hour!"

"I was in the library." Harry said quickly, before Fred or George could mention he was there with Cho.  Alicia cast him a strange look, but before she could say anything, he asked, "Why doesn't McGonagall know who was in the Tower?  Why didn't she just ask the fat lady in the portrait?"

"They don't know how whoever it was got in." Angelina told him as she leaned against McGonagall's large desk.  "It happened while we were all eating breakfast and the fat lady swears she didn't let anyone in during that time, especially any Slytherins.  That's why McGongall was so worried.  She doesn't know how they got in."  She half smiled at Harry's surprised expression and continued.

"First thing we've got to do is get you a new broom." she told Ginny.

"I've got some Quidditch magazines in my dorm.  They've got order forms in them for nearly every broom you could want.  C'mon, I'll let you borrow them." Alicia volunteered.  Ginny went red but kept quiet as she left the classroom with Alicia and Katie.  Harry knew the Weasley's probably couldn't afford to buy Ginny a new broom and was about to make a suggestion to Fred and George when Angelina spoke up.  

"You three are closer to Ginny than the rest of us.  I need you to make sure she doesn't go anywhere alone.  I'll talk to the professors about watching out for her in the halls, but we need to make sure not else happens to her." She said as the four of them headed towards the Gryffindor Tower.

Harry and the twins nodded.  "Do you really think something else could happen to her?" Fred asked, both twins looking worried.  

"No." Angelina told them, "but now that everyone knows she our new Keeper, some kids may give her a hard time.  Especially the Slytherins.  Remember Harry's first year?  The one thing we don't need right now is Ginny getting tripped and pushed around in the halls."  

When they reached the Gryffindor common room, Angelina joined Ginny, Katie and Alicia who were huddled over several magazines on the far side of the room.  Harry started toward his dormitory, but Fred and George pulled him aside.

"We're gonna make it clear right now that we still don't like that you gave us your winnings from the Tournament last year.  But we bought Ron his new dress robes and we used some for a few new, er, inventions," Fred and George grinned mischievously, "and we thought- Would you mind if we spend the rest on buying Ginny a new broom?" George asked him.

"I was going to make the same suggestion to you." Harry smiled.  "But, just like with Ron's dress robes, you can't tell her where you got the money."  

"Agreed." Fred grinned.  "Let's go 'borrow' one of those magazines."

Harry and the twins spend the next several days paging through Quidditch magazines, searching for brooms.  The twins had bought Ron new dress robes and had spend a bit of the money on some new "creations" of theirs they wouldn't tell Harry about, so they didn't have enough money to buy Ginny a Firebolt like they wanted.  They finally settled on a Silver Lightning, a new broom made by the company that made the old Silver Arrows.  It didn't have the speed and agility of a Firebolt, but it had the ability to leave the newest Nimbus model in the dust.

The following Monday, as a flurry of owls announced the arrival of the mail, three owls dropped a long package on the table in front of a stunned Ginny, who was sitting across the table from Harry, next to Hermione.  A fourth owl dropped an envelope on top of the package.  Ginny sat staring at the package for several minutes before Fred reached across Hermione and shook Ginny's shoulder.  

"What is it, Gin?" he asked, winking at Harry.

"I-I dunno…" she stammered.

"Well, open it already!" George prompted her.

Ginny slowly opened the envelope and pulled a piece of parchment from it.  She read the message, threw the parchment on the table and ripped the package open.  She gasped and pulled from the ripped paper a magnificent looking broom.

"Wow." Ron's eyes went wide when he saw it.  Even Harry and the twins were impressed with the broom.  A brilliantly polished mahogany handle ended in a neat bunch of twigs and the words _Silver Lightning _were stamped along the length of the handle in gold letters.  

"Wow," Ron repeated, "where'd it come from?"

Ginny dug the parchment from underneath the wrappings and read it out loud.  

"Congratulations on making Gryffindor Keeper.  We have a feeling this may come in handy.  Use it well."  She shrugged.  "And it's signed 'Three friends'.  That's it."

Harry, Fred and George shared a grin as Angelina, Katie and Alicia came from the end of the table and surrounded Ginny and her broom.  Harry and the twins joined the rest in admiring the new broom, Ginny exclaiming, "I can't wait to try it out!"

Ginny didn't have to wait long to try her new broom, as the Gryffindor team had practice scheduled that night.  Harry joined the other players in a couple of laps on the brooms around the field before practice started.  As he flew by Ginny, he saw a look on her face of pure joy and smiled.  He knew exactly how she felt and remembered his first time flying his Firebolt.

"Okay everybody, let's get started!" Angelina called to the rest of the team, who landed in a circle around her.  "Okay, it's the same as last time. Alicia, Katie and I will take the Quaffle and take our shots on Ginny.  Fred and George will be flying around, hitting the Bludgers and Harry–"

"Will be looking out for the Snitch." George interrupted.  "We know the drill.  Let's fly."

The Gryffindor team took to the air.  Harry saw Madam Hooch, who was overseeing practice, let the Bludgers and the Golden Snitch out of their box.  He saw the Snitch speed toward the far end of the field but lost it when one of the Bludgers came right at him.  He sped forward to avoid it and narrowly missed Fred, who came darting after the Bludger.  Harry positioned himself high above everyone else and began to look for the Snitch.  It took only ten seconds for Harry to find it hovering over a goal near Ginny.  He raced to the end of the field and before it could move, he had it in his hand.  The Chasers cheered and Harry let the Snitch go, giving it a head start.  After catching the snitch five times in less than five minutes, Harry let the Snitch go and turned his attention to the goals below him.  Angelina, Alicia and Katie had improved their teamwork since his third year, Harry noticed as they zoomed below him, tossing the Quaffle between them almost effortlessly.  They moved almost as one, working their way through the new plays Angelina had created.  And Ginny, who looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself, was able to block every shot.  Suddenly the Snitch whizzed by Harry's ear and he took off after it, taking pleasure in the chase.

At the end of practice, the team landed, breathless but grinning.  "Excellent work." complimented Madam Hooch.  Even Angelina, who had become as demanding as Oliver Wood, had no complaints.  The entire team left practice in good spirits.

R/R!


	7. Divination and Dreams

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.  And I know absolutely nothing about interpreting dreams; they're way beyond my realm of understanding.  However my dream dictionary tells me I have battle wounds…right…

Let me know what y'all think!

Harry found his good mood continuing the next day, despite the fact he had divination lessons.  Professor Trelawney had resumed her habit of predicting Harry's death and Harry and Ron found that class more boring than ever.  They took their seats near the window at the back of the classroom and prepared themselves for another mind numbing lesson on numerology.  Professor Trelawney, however, had other plans.

"We have finished our time on the powers of numerology." She announced in her usual misty sounding voice.  "We will be spending the next several week on the study of dreams."  Harry looked up, astounded.  He had never once come across anything he studied in Divination that could be used in real life.  And now they were going to study dreams?  It was almost too good to be true.

"The guide on page 187 of your books will help you interpret the meaning behind your dreams.  Mr. Potter," Professor Trelawney's voice and the rustling of paper brought Harry back to reality.  He groaned, knowing what was coming.  "Tell me, have any of your dreams lately dealt with death?"

Glancing quickly at a page on dreams and then at Ron, Harry replied, "Actually, the dream I had last night had a snake in it."

"A snake!" Professor Trelawney looked appalled.  She blinked at Harry several times from behind her large glasses.  Harry couldn't help noticing how the glasses magnified her eyes numerous times, giving her the appearance of a funny sort of bug.  He managed to stifle a laugh and ignored the glares from both Lavender and Parvati, who had been watching Professor Trelawney with awe.

"A snake." She repeated, shaking her veiled head.  "My poor boy, I fear great tragedy will soon find you.  The snake is an omen."

"That's odd." Ron interrupted loudly.  "It says here," he smirked, pointing to the text in Harry's open book, "that snakes symbolize the ability to transcend into higher level of consciousness or areas of knowledge that exist outside of perceived time and space.  Where does it say anything about a great tragedy?" He asked, flipping through the pages of Harry's book.

"Why-" Professor Trelawney started.  Ron looked up and blinked innocently at her while Harry tried his hardest not to laugh out loud.  

"Class dismissed." Professor Trelawney finally sputtered, glaring at Harry and Ron.  Harry held his breath until he stepped off the ladder from the classroom and then burst out laughing, Ron right behind him.  

"That was great!" Ron leaned against the wall, shaking from laughter.  "I've never seen her get so flustered!"

They stopped laughing as Lavender and Parvati walked by them, each glaring fiercely but refusing to say a word.  Harry and Ron watched the girls' backs grow smaller as they walked down the corridor and burst out laughing again.

Harry overslept the next morning and when he finally reached the Great Hall for breakfast, he found it surprisingly quiet.

"What's going on?" he asked Ron and Hermione who were discussing something in the Daily Prophet as he slid in to a seat across from them.  Hermione handed him the paper which he took as he grabbed a piece of toast.

"Another Muggle village was destroyed." Ron told him before he could read the headline on the front page.  "The whole village burned down again.  This time the Muggles think lightning hit a house and started it."  Harry stared at the picture on the front page where three Ministry representatives were sifting through the charred remains of a house.

                Harry looked up from the paper and his eyes drifted to the Ravenclaw table.  He locked eyes with Cho who had a worried expression on her face.  Harry raised his eyebrows at her in question and she nodded.  Suddenly a hand obstructed his view.  

                "Harry?" Ron waved his hand in front of Harry's face.  "You there?"

                "Yeah." Harry replied uncomfortably, taking a bite out of another piece of toast.

                "Well, the Ministry had better figure out who's behind this and get it stopped." Hermione said vehemently.  "C'mon," she said as she practically pushed herself away from the table, "we don't want to be late for Moody's class."

                Since Dumbledore had cancelled Potions lessons, all the students had Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons four times a week.  Dumbledore had a different demeanor while he was teaching; his eyes still twinkled, but he worked the students hard.  Professor Moody's lessons were less difficult than Professor Dumbledore's, but Moody was a little bit scary.  Harry felt a little bit better knowing he was the real Moody, but this Moody didn't favor any students.  On the plus side, the Gryffindors had Moody's classes with the Slytherins, and Professor Moody didn't let Malfoy get away with anything.  

                Harry, Ron and Hermione left their lessons with an assignment to write a three-foot essay on ways to repel or block advanced hexes, but Harry's mind was not on his homework.  When they reached the Great Hall, Harry scanned the Ravenclaw table, but saw no sign of Cho.  Turning to Hermione and Ron, he said, "I've got something to take care of; I'll catch up with you later."  Before he could see their confused faces, he ran out of the Great Hall and up the stairs.

                Harry sprinted to the library and found Cho waiting for him at the table at the far end of the library.  

                "When was it?" he asked, sliding into the chair across from her.

                "Two nights ago.  It was exactly as the paper described it.  It was dark, except for lightning from the storm.  In one flash of lightning I saw was a cat.  It chased something across the road and disappeared behind a house.  Then a light went on in one of the Muggle homes and two seconds later, lightning hit it.  The entire house was in flames within a few seconds and then the rest of the village went with it."

                Harry hadn't read the article in the Daily Prophet and was surprised at Cho's description.  It sounded very much like the last fire except the part about the light.

                "Oh!" Cho's startled voice echoed through the silent library.  "Something just hit my foot!"  She ducked her head under the table.  Harry did the same and saw a pink tail dart into a small hole in the wall next to the table.

                "It was just a rat." Cho straightened up, smiling sheepishly.  "I'm not sure what I thought it was.  I'm just a little high strung lately."

                Harry nodded as a thought struck him.

                "Are you taking Divination?" he asked her.  If she was, she would already know what Harry was going to be studying about dreams.  

                But Cho shook her head.  "I started to, but I thought it was an awful waste of magic.  I could never get the hang of it; I barely made it through a month and then dropped it for Care of Magical Creatures."

                For the first time in his wizard education, Harry found himself looking forward to studying Divination.

R/R!


	8. Death By Quidditch?

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, I'm not making money with this story, etc.

Many, many thanks to the few people who have reviewed!  You guys have made my day.  And for those that haven't, let me know what y'all think of this story.

                Harry spent much of his free time the rest of the week paging through his Divination book, hoping to find some clue about Cho's dreams.  He became so involved in studying he was surprised at how loud the Great Hall was on Friday night.

                "What's going on?" He asked Ron, watching students at the other tables shout to each other.

                "Harry?  Where have you been?" Ron gave him a funny look.  "The first Quidditch match is tomorrow."

                Harry could have kicked himself.  The Gryffindor team had been talking about the first Quidditch match for a month.  Tomorrow Ravenclaw would be playing Hufflepuff to open the season.  For the first time in several years, Gryffindor wouldn't be playing the first match of the season, a fact that Angelina had pointed out numerous times, allowing the Gryffindor team to observe before they had their first game.  After the Quidditch season had been cancelled last year to allow for the Triwizard Tournament, the entire school was anxious for this year's season to start.

                Harry awoke the next morning to a tapping on his dorm window.  He pulled back the curtains and jumped at the sight of two eyes staring back at him.  Laughing at himself, he opened the window and an owl Harry recognized as belonging to the school flew in.  It perched on his bed and Harry untied a scrap of parchment from its leg.  Hooting softly, the owl flew out the open window, leaving Harry staring at the parchment in shock.

                                                _Harry,_

_                I need to talk to you before the Quidditch match.  Please.  I need your help; I had another dream._

_                                                Cho_

                Harry dressed quickly and, knowing the library wasn't open so early in the morning, hurried to the Great Hall, hoping Cho would be there.  She was.  The moment he entered the Great Hall, she jumped up from the Ravenclaw table.  Before he could say anything, she pulled him out of the Great Hall and down the step of the entrance hall and led him outside.  

                "Cho, what's going on?" He asked her angrily, wondering if his shoulder was pulled out of its socket.  The he saw her face.  She was scared to death and shaking terribly.  

                "Harry, I don't know what to do.  I'm so scared.  I-" she was talking so far Harry could hardly understand her."

                "Whoa, slow down." He told her.  "What was your dream about?"

                Cho sat down on the steps leading up to the castle and took a deep breath.  "This one was strange; it was like I was another person.  I was in the stands watching myself play in the match; we had only been playing a little while but we were beating the Hufflepuffs by thirty points.  I saw the Snitch, or I guess I saw myself see the Snitch, hovering about ten feet over the Ravenclaw goals.  I was about halfway there when I lost control of my broom and it sped in the direction of the Dark Forest.  Suddenly I wasn't in the stands anymore, I was in the forest.  I saw myself lying on the ground next to my broom, but I couldn't see anything else.  I heard voices though, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.  Then I heard the words 'Kill the girl,' and I woke up."

                Harry wasn't sure what to say.  He knew he had to say something.  "Do you know why you lost control of your broom?" he asked lamely.  

                Cho frowned.  "In the back of my mind, it seemed like I could hear someone saying 'Accio Silver Lightning '."

                "You have a Silver Lightning?" Harry asked, surprised.

                "I just got it this summer." Cho replied.  "My old Cleansweep Seven had seen better days.  They just came out in May, but they're less expensive than a Firebolt or the newest Nimbus."

                "I know." Harry answered.  "Ginny just got one."

                "Really?" Now Cho looked surprised, forgetting about her dream for a minute.  "I thought I had the only one in the school."

                "What if," Harry thought out loud, "What if you didn't ride your Silver Lightning today?"

                "What?" Cho looked at Harry like he had just grown another head.

                "What if you rode a different broom?  When your Silver Lightning is summoned, you wouldn't be on it."

                "I like that idea." Cho said thoughtfully.  "But I what broom am I going to use?  I can't ride one of the school's, I'd have a better chance of catching the Snitch if I was walking."

                Harry paused, wondering what he was doing.  "You could use my Firebolt." He said, and almost kicked himself.  He hated the idea of anyone but himself riding his Firebolt.  He had let Ron and the twins ride it a few times, but only for a few minutes and never in a real match, where accidents were very likely to happen.

                Cho hesitated, "Are you sure?" she asked.

                Before Harry could stop himself, he said, "Sure.  I'll go get it," and ran to his room, grabbed his Firebolt and sprinted back outside.

                Cho handed him her Silver Lightning and took the Firebolt, turning it over carefully in her hands.  "Are you sure about this, Harry?" She looked at him doubtfully.  

                Harry hesitated.  "You have to play." he said, as a plan began to formulate in his head.  

                "Well, if you're sure," Cho looked down at the broom in her hands.  "Thanks Harry.  This means a lot."  She smiled at him and began walking towards the Quidditch locker rooms.  

                Harry looked at his watch.  A quarter till eleven.  All the students would be making their way from the Great Hall to the Quidditch pitch right now.  Harry hid Cho's broom underneath some bushes and ran back to the castle entrance.  Pushing his way around some first years in the entrance hall, he heard his name.

                "Harry!" Ron and Hermione narrowly missed tripping over several younger students before reaching the spot where Harry was standing.  "You were gone when I got up this morning.  Where were you?" Ron asked him.

                "You missed breakfast." Hermione added, handing him two pieces of toast. 

                "I know.  Thanks." Harry said, thinking quickly.  "I was talking with Cho."  He told them, purposely not answering Ron's question.  He noticed Ron and Hermione share a look when he mentioned Cho's name.  But he didn't have time to worry about that now.  "I've got to run and grab something, but I'll meet you guys in that stands, okay?"  He started for the stairs, not waiting for their answers.

                Once he reached his dorm, Harry rummaged through his trunk until he found his invisibility cloak.  He ran back down to the common room and out of the portrait hole.  Looking around the hallway to make sure no one was watching, Harry threw the cloak over himself and began the trip back down to the entrance hall.  

Once he was out of the castle, Harry retrieved Cho's broom and stuffed it underneath the cloak with him.  It was much harder than he imagined, walking with the broom, while trying to stay completely covered by the cloak.  He managed, with a great deal of difficulty, to walk around the Quidditch pitch to the far side, nearest the Dark Forest, where he sat down to wait.  From here, Harry could hear all the play by play of the match and hopefully be able to catch a glimpse of whoever was after Cho.

As he waited for the match to start, Harry's thoughts began to wander.  He had spent a little time during the week trying to find some meaning to Cho's dreams or why she was having them.  But his Divination book was no help.  He would have to spend some time in the library; Harry was sure he'd be able to find something that could help him there.  There was something about this last dream that was peculiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.  This dream was completely different than the last two, but there was something else.

                Before Harry could rack his brain for any more ideas, he heard Lee's voice booming through the microphone, announcing the start of the match.  A short whistle blast was followed by a roar from the crowd and Harry knew the match had started.  "We had only been playing a little while," Cho had said, so if anything was going to happen, it would happen quickly.  

"Ravenclaw scores to make it 30 – 0!"  Lee's voice brought Harry out of thoughts he didn't know he was lost in.  Suddenly, Cho broom jerked to life.  Harry let go of it just in time and it sped off in the direction of the Dark Forest.  Harry lept to his feet and ran after the broom, trying to keep it in his sights.  

Harry was twenty feet from the forest when the broom disappeared into the trees.  Harry's sprint slowed to a walk.  Whatever wanted Cho dead was in those trees.  He crept into the trees, trying to walk as silently as possible.  Not hearing any voices, Harry continued forward, in the direction he hoped the broom would be.  Harry caught a glimpse of light ahead of him and almost immediately, the forest opened up into a small clearing.  And in the middle of the clearing sat Cho's broom, snapped in two.

Harry drew his wand and approached the broom.  "_Reparo_." he whispered and the broom pieced itself back together.  He picked it up and then noticed a set of footprints leading from the broom into the woods.  Harry began to follow the footprints out of the clearing when he heard voices behind him.  

"It's got to be around here somewhere." Harry froze.  He knew that voice.  But it couldn't be.  He stuffed the broom underneath his cloak and crouched next to a tree, hoping the voices would pass by and not run into him.

A figure stepped into the clearing.  "I don't see it." The figure called to someone behind him.

"Well, keep looking!" The voice snapped and Draco Malfoy stepped into the clearing.

R/R!


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